Foot notes
I’m not a runner, nor would I say that I particularly like it. Yet, for the last few years, I have managed to maintain the habit. I haven’t progressed as quickly as I would like pace-wise, but for now, I’m happy that I have continued to show up.
Here I keep track of my annual performance to remind myself of what I can achieve—totals, landmark runs, personal bests, and anything else that takes my fancy.
Previous years: 2025, 2024, 2023, 2015, 2014
Lifetime
2026 - targets
Whilst last year was a success in terms of total volume and finally improving my half marathon time, it still fell short of my expectations—I expected to be faster.
Continuing the same way would probably see some improvement, but I think there is more to be gained by working on other areas. So, this year I will be adding in significantly more strength training and, as ever, will be trying to improve my diet.
I’ll do the standard two half marathons, where I hope to push my personal best closer to 2:10.
2025
2025 was the first year I ran consistently throughout the entire year—even during the winter months. My primary goal was to run at least 1,200 km, inspired by the Garmin 2025 Running Challenge. The challenge consists of four three-month stages with a badge for each; while I missed the Stage 1 badge due to a combination of illness, poor conditions, and injury, I earned the other three and completed the overall challenge with 1,442.7 km for the year.
My other goal was to improve my half-marathon time, which had stood at 2:31:14 since 2023 (Strava). After failing to improve in 2024, I ran a 2:32:00 in June—just 46 seconds short of a PB (Strava). After 15 kilometers the wheels fell off, leaving me with a frustrating “stop-start” finish. That attempt taught me the importance of remembering one’s exact PB so you know exactly how hard to push to beat it.
The lead-up to the September half-marathon was promising. Following a strong, non-stop 18.31 km run at a 6:40 min/km pace, I was quietly confident that a 2:20 time was possible (Strava). In the end, I managed a PB of 2:26:11—a 5:03 improvement! (Strava) At the time, I was a little underwhelmed; given my training runs, I had hoped to break 2:20. However, reflecting on it some months later, I am incredibly happy with the result.
In February, Olivia and I visited Rome. I was determined to squeeze in a few runs, but after so much sightseeing which included a lot of walking, I only managed one. It was a crisp, sunny morning, and I was out in shorts and a t-shirt while the locals were still dressed for deep winter 😂. It was a pleasant route along the Tiber towards the Vatican and Saint Peter’s Basilica.